[The first Written Answer should have been printed in the Official Report of Thursday, 18th September.]British Waterways

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How the new powers granted to British Waterways will be affected by proposals in the Water Bill to create licensed water suppliers only for supply to the largest 2,000 sites.

Lord Whitty: The competition provisions in the Water Bill will further open undertakers' public water distribution networks to competition. The canal network under British Waterways is not part of this system. Anyone may apply for access to the canal network and this will not change.
	British Waterways' proposals for expanding the use of the canal network for the supply of water are not directly affected by our proposals. Watergrid, the joint venture company, will be able to offer direct supply to users from canals and could also seek to become a licensee in order to obtain access to the statutory undertakers' distribution networks.

Rural Stress

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What support they have given in the financial year 2002–03 to each of the voluntary bodies dealing with rural stress; how much is budgeted for 2003–04; and how much is planned for 2004–05.

Lord Whitty: The Government allocated £300,000 to fund the Rural Stress Action Plan to relieve the incidence of stress in rural areas in 2002–03. A similar sum was allocated in 2003–04. Defra, working in partnership with voluntary organisations dealing with rural stress, in turn allocated the money to the following organisations:
	
		Breakdown of moneys allocated from Defra to Rural Stress Action Plan 2002–03
		
			 Project Vol Org £k 
			 Rural Support Initiative Fund Grant  Scheme (to help fund small projects  in rural areas) RSIN 100 
			 Rural Demonstration Project RSIN 5 
			 Partner Initiatives RABI 76 
			  Samaritans 45 
			 Tenant Support Initiative RSIN 5 
			 Publicity RSIN 50 
			 Training RSIN 10 
			 RSIN Management RSIN 15 
			 Total  306 
		
	
	
		Breakdown of moneys allocated from Defra to Rural Stress Action Plan 2003–04
		
			 Project Vol Org £k 
			 Farming Help RSIN 35 
			 Joint partner complimentary support RABI/FCN 90 
			  (FCN) [60] 
			  (RABI) [30] 
			 Stress proofing and rural recovery  toolkits RSIN 37.3 
			 Research to gather evidence RSIN 14.98 
			 Understanding and relieving stress  amongst Norfolk intensive arable  farmers RSIN/CA (CA 
			 providing 
			 co-funding) 20 
			 Rural Support Initiative Fund Grant  Scheme (to help fund small projects in  rural areas) RSIN 100 
			 Farm Help publicity RSIN 35 
			 Rural publicity RSIN 22 
			 Total  319.28 
		
	
	Note:
	Rural Stress Information Network (RSIN); Rural Agricultural Benevolent Institute (RABI); Farm Crisis Network (FCN); Countryside Agency (CA).
	These figures are in addition to the £15 million we provided to the voluntary sector in England during the outbreak of foot and mouth disease to help relieve distress in rural areas. We are in the process of planning for 2004–05.

Foot and Mouth Disease

Lord Plumb: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps have been taken towards meeting the requirements in the European Union foot and mouth disease directive to create "a permanently operational expert group to maintain expertise and assist the relevant authority in qualitative disease preparation"; whether the composition will include international expertise in foot and mouth disease diagnosis, vaccination and relevant new technologies; and whether appointments will be undertaken in an open and transparent manner.

Lord Whitty: The Government already have in place arrangements to call on expertise on disease control in the event of an outbreak and this is covered in the foot and mouth contingency plan which has been laid before the House. In October 2002, Defra's chief scientific adviser also established the Science Advisory Group to provide independent advice to the department, including the Animal Disease Policy Group and the Civil Contingencies Committee; and to challenge strategic assumptions.
	A new EU directive on measures to control foot and mouth disease has been agreed in principle and is expected to be adopted later this month. It is required to be transposed into domestic legislation by 30 June 2004. We shall consider what further steps may be required to implement the directive in full over the coming months.

National Animal Disease Information Service

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have agreed to the proposals submitted to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by the National Animal Disease Information Service for expanding the network; and, if so, what is the forward plan.

Lord Whitty: The National Animal Disease Information Service (NADIS) is one of a number of organisations that submitted proposals seeking funding for projects as part of the veterinary training and research initiative. This initiative is sponsored jointly by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and Defra. An independent selection panel reviewed the proposals and adjudged NADIS's application unsuccessful. Applicants were notified in writing of the panel's decisions in June.
	The Government have initiated a pilot study to explore whether NADIS could provide robust, representative clinical data to the Government for veterinary surveillance purposes. Conclusions drawn from the study are due to be reported to the Government in July 2004.

Catchment Flood Management Plans

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In relation to Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food, whether the five pilot catchment flood management plans are in place; and, if so, when the first progress report is due.

Lord Whitty: Due to technical difficulties with the availability of appropriate ground elevation models, there has been a delay in the catchment flood management plan (CFMP) programme. So far only one of the five pilots has published a plan (for the River Parrett in Somerset) and Defra officials have been discussing with the Environment Agency the extent to which this meets the agreed guidelines.
	At least one further CFMP pilot is nearing completion and we hope that a further draft plan will be published before the end of the year. In the meantime the Environment Agency is progressing a number of catchment inception studies in preparation for the start of the main CFMP programme which will be initiated as soon as the results of the pilots have been consolidated into final guidance.

Rural Payments Agency: Late Payments

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 3 June (WA 147–148), how many of the "significant discrepancies which had to be resolved before payment" (under bovine schemes) were traced to errors in the cattle tracing system; and what steps have been taken to prevent this happening again.

Lord Whitty: The enclosed table shows the number of animals claimed in 2001 under the Beef Special Premium Scheme (BSPS), the Suckler Cow Premium Scheme (SCPS) and the Slaughter Premium Scheme/Veal Calf Slaughter Premium Scheme (SPS/VCSPS) and the number of claims submitted under the Extensification Payment Scheme (EPS).
	All animal and claim details were cross-checked against the cattle tracing system in accordance with the European regulations that govern these schemes. The table shows the initial number of discrepancies identified between the information declared by producers on their subsidy claim forms and the data held on the cattle tracing system. All discrepancies were examined by RPA and where necessary by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS). Where the discrepancy could not be resolved and the data held on the cattle tracing system meant that the animal claimed was ineligible under the rules governing the subsidy schemes the animal was removed from the claim with penalties. The table shows the penalties applied under each of the schemes.
	Many of the errors that could be put right did relate to discrepancies between what the cattle tracing system and the information given to other parts of the department had been told about animals by keepers. The most common errors were differences in animals' eartag numbers between notifications, the failure to report the movement of cattle or the reporting of incomplete or conflicting information. Some 91 per cent of all the discrepancies found were able to be resolved and all queries cleared. The remaining 9 per cent could not be cleared because of the severity in the nature of the error.
	A number of measures have taken place to try to minimise the number of discrepancies between the data declared on subsidy claims and the cattle tracing system for future scheme years, including the following:
	We have worked closely with industry representatives to ensure producers understand that their claims will be cross-checked and to promote the need to keep CTS up to date and regularly check their records held on the database.
	RPA has also issued further guidance in the cattle schemes explanatory booklet, which is mailed to all bovine subsidy claimants.
	The format of claim forms has been changed and since the 2002 schemes producers have been asked to submit movement cards (torn from the CTS-issued cattle passports) in support of their
	SCPS and SPS/VCSPS claims (cattle passport documents themselves have always been required with BSPS claims). The movement cards allow RPA to scan in the identifying number of the animal using a pre-printed barcode. This ensures a direct match with the animal record held on CTS and prevents problems with transposition errors and formatting differences.
	BCMS has stationed experienced staff at RPA claim processing sites and now provides regular training updates on the use of the CTS database.
	The introduction of statements containing a record of all transactions reported will aid the process of continuous improvement.
	The management structure of the existing crosschecks team at BCMS has been strengthened and additional staff have been recruited. An enhanced training programme has been successfully carried out.
	BCMS provides keepers with access to printed and electronic information on their holdings records so that problems may be identified and corrected in advance of subsidy deadlines. BCMS also actively promotes electronic notifications to the database through the CTS website at www.bcms.gov.uk.
	The BCMS has also now supplied all cattle keepers with envelopes to return batches of movement cards in to reduce the number that are lost in the post. They have also introduced an additional counting and reconciliation step in their handling of these movement cards to ensure that all cards received at the site are scanned into the system and their contents recorded.
	
		
			 Scheme Total number of animals claimed and cross-checked Number of discrepancies identified following the cross-check Number of penalties applied Number of discrepancies resolved 
			 BSPS 1,242,374 117,765 8,033 109,732 
			 SCPS 673,012 264,421 6,619 257,802 
			 SPS/VCSPS 1,484,304 189,534 30,928 158,606 
			 EPS(1) 28,459 2,449 529 1,920 
			 Total 3,428,149 574,169 46,109 528,060 
		
	
	(1) EPS figures shown are for claims not animals

Sites of Special Scientific Interest: North-west England

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many Sites of Special Scientific Interest are situated in north-west England, and where such sites are located.

Lord Whitty: The North West Government Region contains 428 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) wholly or partly within its boundary. The table below provides a breakdown of the number of SSSIs by county, or counties in cases where the sites cross county boundaries within the region. A number of these SSSIs will also cross regional boundaries.
	
		
			 County Name No. of SSSIs 
			 Cheshire 60 
			 Cumbria 270 
			 Greater Manchester 18 
			 Lancashire 63 
			 Merseyside 13 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 2 
			 Lancashire and Merseyside 1 
			 Lancashire and Greater Manchester 1 
			 Total 428 
		
	
	English Nature has a statutory duty to notify land in England which in its opinion is of special interest, by reason of its flora, fauna, geological or physiographical features. Sites are selected on the basis of scientific criteria set out in publicly available guidelines prepared and maintained by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). Confirmation of SSSIs in England is carried out by the full council of English Nature at meetings which members of the public may attend.
	Information on the location of SSSIs is available from the English Nature website www.english-nature.org.uk or MAGIC, the Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside, www.magic.gov.uk.

Vermin

Lord Selsdon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which mammals and other animals are classified as "vermin".

Lord Whitty: There is no definition of the term "vermin" in UK law. In such a situation the Oxford Dictionary definition should be applied.
	The Oxford Dictionary defines "vermin" as "Animals of a noxious or objectionable kind. Originally applied to reptiles, stealthy, or slinky animals, and various wild beasts; now, excluding in US and Australia, almost entirely restricted to those animals or birds which prey upon preserved game . . ."
	The Small Ground Vermin Traps Order 1958 and the various Spring Traps Approval Orders, refer to "small ground vermin". Neither the orders nor the Pests Act 1954, under which they are made, define this term or provide an exclusive list of species. However, the following animals are listed under various orders: moles, grey squirrels, rabbits, mink, stoats, weasels, rabbits, rats, and mice.
	Traps approved under the Spring Traps Approval Order 1995 do not apply to small ground vermin listed in Schedules 5 and 6 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This means that red squirrels, dormice, water voles, shrews, hedgehogs, polecats and a number of other species are excluded.

Biofuels

Lord Palmer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What technologies, if any, are currently available to convert woody biomass into bioethanol; and what is the estimated cost per tonne of such fuels.

Lord Whitty: At present, there are no commercially viable technologies for producing bioethanol from woody material. Significant advances are currently being made in developing ways to use this feedstock. The technologies can be broadly characterised as: ligno-cellulosic technologies—the enzyme-based hydrolysis of cellulose-rich biomass; dilute acid hydrolysis—the use of acids to break down cellulose into fermentable sugars; and gasification and reformation—the application of heat and pressure to break down biomass into syn-gas which is then reformed into ethanol, or other road fuels.
	Large scale commercialisation of these technologies is unlikely for some years and firm costs are not yet available. Current research gives estimated production costs of 50 to 56 pence per litre from ligno-cellulosic enzyme hydrolysis and 30 to 40 pence per litre from gasification.

Prime Minister: TUC Speech

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Prime Minister's speech made at the Trades Union Congress dinner on 9 September was accurately represented by the text of that speech issued by his spokesman.

Baroness Amos: Yes.

Guantanamo Bay: British Detainees

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have refused to have British prisoners of war from Afghanistan returned to Britain in early 2002 or subsequently.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We are pressing the US authorities to move forward with the process of determining the future of all the British detainees held by the US at Guantanamo Bay. The issues currently under discussion include the possibility of repatriation.

IRA Terrorism: Libyan-supplied Weapons

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will seek compensation from the Libyan Government for any terrorist crimes committed by the IRA using weapons supplied by that government.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: No. The Government have already put in place structures and mechanisms aimed at addressing the needs of all victims of the Northern Ireland conflict.

Iraq: Post-conflict Risks

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, before embarking on the war in Iraq, they assessed the extent of risk of obstruction, resistance and armed opposition to the occupation of Iraq; and, if so, what was their assessment of the extent of the risk.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: In planning for a possible conflict in Iraq, the Government took into account a wide range of factors relevant to the post-conflict phase, anticipated the risks and planned accordingly.

Iraq: Post-conflict Risks

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, before embarking on the war in Iraq, they were warned by the intelligence and security services of the United Kingdom or the United States that there was likely to be a significant obstruction, resistance and armed opposition to the occupation of Iraq.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The intelligence and security services contribute to the provision of advice to the Government through Joint Intelligence Committee assessments. The JIC issued a number of assessments on Iraq prior to the conflict.

Blood Transfusions: Risks

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Following the recent publication of a letter by G. F. Reidler in Vox Sanguinis, which identifies deaths as a result of non-infective complications of blood transfusions, why they have not taken steps to prevent avoidable deaths and serious morbidity.

Lord Warner: The safety of blood and blood products used in the National Health Service is of paramount importance. Although most United Kingdom sourced fresh frozen plasma (FFP) is not virally inactivated, high levels of safety are achieved by using single unit, as opposed to pooled plasma, by screening out potential high-risk donors and by testing every unit of donated blood for the presence of infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C before it is released to hospitals. In addition, the National Blood Authority (NBA) is conducting an options appraisal of means to minimise the risk of transfusion-related acute lung injury from FFP.
	The decision taken to import single unit FFP sourced from the United States for young babies and children born after 1 January 1996 will provide additional protection to the most vulnerable group who will not have been exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy through the food chain. The NBA is involved in arranging for supplies of FFP for this group of patients. A commercially produced, pooled FFP product sourced from the United States is also available for the National Health Service to purchase.
	The Government's Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissue for Transplantation will continue to review the risk of new emerging viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on the blood supply. There is no evidence at present that SARS can be transmitted by blood transfusion.

Smallpox

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How long immunity from smallpox lasts in an individual who has been vaccinated one, two or three times at 10-year intervals; and
	What proportion of the United Kingdom population is estimated to have a degree of immunity from smallpox as a result of having been vaccinated.

Lord Warner: Routine smallpox vaccination stopped in 1971. Fifty five per cent of the population were born before 1971 and the uptake of vaccine in the immediate years preceding this stoppage was 35 to 40 per cent. The estimate for the proportion of the current United Kingdom population now who have ever been vaccinated is about a third. No laboratory test to measure the immunological response, most likely to confer protection against smallpox, existed at that time.
	A recent study* from United States researchers has shown that the immunological response remains, in some degree, in 90 per cent of those vaccinated, but declines steadily over the decades since immunisation. It is not known whether, or to what extent, this protects against smallpox infection or development of disease. In that study, in those vaccinated one, two, three or more times, there was no correlation between the number of vaccinations received and the immunological response.
	In the past, vaccination was required every three years for travel and yearly for those working close to smallpox cases.
	*Duration of antiviral immunity after smallpox vaccination.
	Hammarlund, E et al, Nature Medicine 9 (9) September 2003.

People Trafficking

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they require social services departments to report to a central point any evidence of trafficking of—
	(a) children under 18; and
	(b) adults;
	and whether such a requirement is in accord with international obligations.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: There is no specific requirement on the part of social services departments to report evidence of the trafficking of children under the age of 18 or the trafficking of adults.
	We understand a number of successful multi-agency protocols have already been developed and are in use at points of entry to help identify persons who may have been trafficked.
	This work has been complemented by the Government's publication of a toolkit providing advice on trafficking. This is a comprehensive resource to prevent trafficking that will serve to raise awareness and provide guidelines to practitioners, including social workers, who are likely to come into contact with victims of trafficking.

Child Protection Services

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What resources have been transferred from local authority child protection services to the implementation of Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 in accordance with the directive entitled Refocusing Children's Services, issued by the Department of Health in 1996.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: By definition, children in need of protection are children in need under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
	The Department of Health launched the Refocusing Children's Services initiative to ensure that support for all children in need and their families was given proper consideration. A total of £700,000 was made available under the initiative for 43 different projects to pilot or promote new ways of supporting families with young children, especially children in need. The key message from the evaluation of these projects was that early intervention is important.
	Evidence from the Refocusing Children's Services initiative projects about models of intervention that work well has been disseminated widely and used to inform the development of policy and related guidance such as Working Together to Safeguard Children (1999) and the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (2000).
	All services provided by social services to children in need who are supported in their families or independently, including children who are the subject of child protection enquiries, are funded under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989. Only since 2000 have we been able to gather comprehensive information on needs activity and expenditure. However, information is not held centrally about changes to expenditure specifically in relation to child protection inquiries.

Statutory Instruments: Amendments Due to Error

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which statutory instruments under the Education Act 2002 have had to be amended subsequently due to an error or omission in the original instrument.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The following statutory instruments made under the Education Act 2002 have been amended due to an error or omission.
	The Education (Additional Secondary School Proposals) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/1200) were amended by The Education (Additional Secondary School Proposals) (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/1421).
	The School Governance (Constitution) Regulations 2003/348, and the School Governance (Procedures) Regulations 2003/1377 were amended by the School Governance (Constitution and Procedures) Regulations 2003/1916.
	The Federation of Schools Regulations 2003/1965 were amended by the Federation of Schools (Amendment) Regulations 2003/2133.

Education Act 2002: Schedule 2

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they intend to commence Schedule 2 to the Education Act 2002.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Schedule 2 to the Education Act 2002 was commenced by the bringing into force of Sections 35 and 36 in the Education Act 2002 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2003 (SI 2003/1667), and came into force on 1 September.